Unrest at Big Brown

FROM THE late 1950s through 1970, UPS massively expanded its operations and workforce across the U.S.

Forbes magazine dubbed UPS the "Quiet Giant" of the shipping industry in 1970 because of the stealth-like manner that it captured a huge section of the "parcel post" market from it chief competitor, the United States Post Office. During this era, UPS came into view as the company we recognize today, with its massive fleet of distinctive dark brown trucks that are omnipresent in America's commercial districts and residential neighborhoods.

"Big Brown" was the popular nickname coined at the time for UPS. It captured the company's well-crafted image as a powerful, efficient and profit-driven machine.

However, inside hubs across the country and for its drivers on the streets, UPS"s aggressive management, relentless drive for higher productivity and peculiar, cult-like culture put enormous pressures on workers. Management's goal was nothing less than to become the world's biggest shipping company.